The world is going through difficult times, from the waves of Corona to climate fluctuations, inflation, high prices, and wars.

Because of much of what is happening in the world, and contributes to high levels of stress and anxiety, comes the importance of utilizing the hormones that help regulate mood and promote positive feelings, which are the "four hormones of happiness".

These hormones include: dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasurable sensations and an important part of the brain’s reward system, serotonin, which helps regulate mood, sleep, appetite, digestion, memory, and learning, and oxytocin, the “love hormone” famous for its role in bonding and attachment and essential for childbirth and breastfeeding and for the relationship between Parents and children and to enhance trust and empathy in relationships and its levels increase in an atmosphere of physical affection, and endorphins, a hormone that acts as a natural pain reliever and produced by the body to counter stress and stress.

The good news is that there are still solutions to getting more happiness in our daily lives, “by doing more practical activities that boost our body’s natural hormones, and help us feel better,” according to Dr. Farfa Fatima, a family medicine specialist.

  • Enjoy cooking with your loved one

A research on happiness conducted by Harvard University over an 80-year period concluded that “meeting with our loved ones has a positive impact on our physical and mental health, and helps us live longer.”

When you enjoy cooking a favorite meal with your loved one, it boosts the release of the hormones dopamine and endorphins, while the cooperation in preparing the meal and then eating it leads to increased levels of oxytocin.

Therefore, it is better to choose foods that increase the hormones of happiness, such as spicy foods that stimulate the secretion of endorphins, yogurt, beans, eggs, low-fat meat, and almonds, which are foods associated with the secretion of dopamine, as well as foods rich in a high percentage of "tryptophan" such as whole milk. Cheese, canned tuna, turkey and chicken, oats, and nuts, all of which have been linked to increased serotonin levels.

When you enjoy cooking a favorite meal with your loved one, it boosts the release of dopamine and endorphin hormones (pixels).

  • Listening to music

Listening to music is a great way to get enough dopamine, according to a 2011 study, in which McGill University researchers reported that listening to music you love “increases feelings of happiness, by stimulating the hormone dopamine.”

In 2015, a research article noted the link between music and the stimulation of the hormone oxytocin.

According to a 2016 study, music can increase the production of dopamine which makes for a positive change in mood, which increases serotonin production and may trigger the release of endorphins to endure strong music.

  • catch the laugh

“Laughter is one way to naturally increase endorphins,” says Loretta Brauning, author of Habits of a Happy Brain.

According to studies, "laughter can alter the activity of dopamine and serotonin in the brain," and a short study published in 2017 showed that social laughter, whether by exchanging laughter with a friend, or sharing something funny with family members, can help improve mood. It relieves feelings of pain or anxiety and tension by releasing oxytocin and increasing endorphins.

  • Playing sports

Fitness exercises are known to boost mood, relieve anxiety and stress, and even fight depression, and exercise has been shown to boost serotonin levels.

So, making time for exercise can have a positive effect on emotional well-being. Regular exercise, regardless of intensity, has been shown to improve mood, raise dopamine and serotonin levels, and increase the production of endorphins that help reduce pain, to be a great option. To increase happy hormones.

  • Meditation

A study published in 2019 linked meditation to an increase in dopamine production. Simply relaxing with your thoughts for 5 minutes (the duration can be gradually lengthened over time), and meditating by breathing deeply, then slowly exhaling for a few minutes, this may help to gradually rid your mind of the accumulations of the day, Looking at things in a more positive light, this reduces the production of the stress hormone (cortisol), to be replaced by endorphins responsible for feeling good.

Relaxing alone with your thoughts for 5 minutes may help you gradually rid your mind of the accumulation of the day (Getty Images)

  • Control of stress and stress

The American Psychological Association (APA) recommends taking a short break to relieve stress and allow for increased levels of serotonin, dopamine and even endorphins.

Living with regular stress or the stress of everyday life that can be very stressful can cause a drop in dopamine and serotonin, negatively affect health and mood, and make dealing with stress more difficult.

  • Get a good night's sleep

Studies indicate the relationship between bad sleep and depression, because not getting enough quality sleep can contribute to an imbalance of hormones, especially dopamine, and this negatively affects mood and physical state, while a good sleep every night can help restore Balance the hormones in the body, and then feel a noticeable improvement.

  • Spend some time outside the house

This is indicated by research published in 2016, which showed that “spending about 15 minutes outside, several times a week, as well as regular exposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun is an easy way to increase the hormone serotonin,” provided that sunscreens are used, to prevent the risk of infection. skin cancer.

  • green tea

One study indicated that green tea containing L-theanine, as a major amino acid, increases serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain, making it a relaxing factor.